Horse and Carriage

America has capital, Mexico has labour. They go together like a horse and carriage. Mexican President Calderon sounds just like Herr Doctor Professor Marx.

“It’s impossible to stop that by decree. It’s impossible to try to stop that with a fence. Why? Because the capital in America needs Mexican workers. And Mexican workers need opportunities of jobs. Capital and labor are like right shoe and left shoe, and one needs the other,” he said, in an interview with Diane Sawyer on “Good Morning America.”

Calderon told Sawyer that some of his own relatives live and work in the United States— "some of them in the vegetable fields, others in restaurants and others in construction," he said.

Immigration to America is a "natural phenomenon," Calderon said, because Mexico has a large, young labor force that is needed by U.S. businesses, a sentiment that some politicians and business leaders across the country agree with.

SEE:

Farmer John's Robot

Thanks Lou and Tom

Farmer John Exploits Mexican Workers

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Farmer John's Robot

Not quite Robbie the Robot but automation to replace migrant workers.

With authorities promising tighter borders, some farmers who rely on immigrant labor are eyeing an emerging generation of fruit-picking robots and high-tech tractors to do everything from pluck premium wine grapes to clean and core lettuce.

Such machines, now in various stages of development, could become essential for harvesting delicate fruits and vegetables that are still picked by hand.

"If we want to maintain our current agriculture here in California, that's where mechanization comes in," said Jack King, national affairs manager for the California Farm Bureau.

More than half of all farm workers in the country are illegal immigrants, according to U.S. Department of Labor statistics.

As I wrote in Gothic Capitalism; "the term Robot first appears in the Czechoslovakian science fiction novel/play; R U R (1920) aka Rossum's Universal Robots by Karl Capek. Robot is shortened form of the Russian word for worker, robotnichki, it also refers to work or drudgery."

Like that done by migrant workers.

Because of the immigration issue, migrant workers are becoming a difficult entity to find," Maconachy said. "If growers have a crop that needs to be harvested and there aren't the people to do it, they'll need to find a mechanized way to do it."

Philip Martin, an agricultural economist at the University of California, Davis, said it was still unclear if heightened immigration enforcement would drive away enough workers to justify huge expenditures by growers on new machinery.

And the number of variables involved makes it difficult to determine how much, if anything, growers could save by switching to automated systems.

Regardless of mechanization, there will always be the need for workers. Mechanization of farming was the origin of capitalism, transforming self sufficient peasant's into wage slaves in the growing industrial metropol's.

“If the whole class of the wage-laborer were to be annihilated by machinery, how terrible that would be for capital, which, without wage-labor, ceases to be capital."

Karl Marx

SEE:

Thanks Lou and Tom

Farmer John Exploits Mexican Workers

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Lou Dobbs New Enemy: The Church

Lou Dobbs has discovered political secularism. In his continuing nativist war on 'illegal aliens' and illegal immigrants, Lou has recently discovered that Christians in America are a political lobby.

During a gushing interview with Chris Hitchens over his new book on Atheism, God Is Not Great, Hitchens sucked up to nativist Dobbs and asked him to pin the American flag pin to his sport coat collar, since he had just become an official American, the love affair between these two nationalist populist pedagogues was thus sealed.

Lou Dobbs loved him. Lou Dobbs made an appeal to his listeners for the book God is Not Great, "I read it, and I strongly recommend you do too. Terrific book....".

Hitchens does come over as a bit toad-like, possibly smelling of martinis and cigarettes, but he will move some books with this lengthy and sympathetic interview.

Hitchens is likewise a sort of conservative, supporting the Iraq War, for example. He mentioned that he had just become an American citizen, which will have a nice appeal for the flag-waving old school conservatives that watch Lou Dobbs on CNN. (A bit of a joke I suppose for Dobbs' usual anti-illegal immigrant audience that instead of illegal immigration of hispanics they get a legally immigrated atheist).

And following his 'conversion' to radical secularism, not quite atheism just good old American deism, Lou has expanded his populist nativist war on 'aliens' to include institutional Christianity, the very base of the Republican right. But of course for Lou the bad Churches are the liberal ones that support amnesty.

DOBBS: Coming up here next, another religious group all but declares that God wants amnesty for as many as 20 million illegal aliens. Holy mackerel. Is the separation of church and state dead in this country?

We'll have that special report.

And outrage after a pro-amnesty group gives illegal aliens instructions on how to circumvent our immigration laws.

DOBBS: The nation's religious leaders tonight bypassing the notion of separation of church and state. In fact they're lobbying Washington and lobbying hard for amnesty for illegal aliens, both on the pulpit and by direct mail.

Lisa Sylvester reports now on the campaign by the Catholic Church and other Christian churches to influence if not direct the Senate debate on amnesty legislation. Casey Wian reports on a renewed call for amnesty from Cardinal Roger Mahony and the mayor of Los Angeles.
SYLVESTER (on camera): Church leaders may be pushing for amnesty but a Zogby poll from last year asks the members of the Christian faith if they supported a get tough approach to illegal immigration. That is, securing the border and doing employment checks. Seventy- five percent of Protestants responded that was a good or very good idea. Seventy-seven percent of born-again Christians also agreed and 66 percent of Catholics also backed tougher enforcement measures.

So Lou, it appears that there's a bit of a disconnect between church leaders and church goers on this issue. Lou?

DOBBS: And there's just as large, if not a larger disconnect between our political elites and American citizens on the same issue. Did you, by any chance ask why in the world this reverend would suggest that this is a choice between Jesus Christ and Lou Dobbs?

SYLVESTER: I think he was trying make the point that it's one or the other. But clearly he was being a little facetious.

DOBBS: I hope so. Because -- When these folks start talking -- suggesting that God tells them not to worry about border security and not to worry about illegal immigration, and -- you know, I start worrying a little bit about the secular interests of this country. Any discussion about separation of church and state for crying out loud?

SYLVESTER: That line does seem to be very blurred on this issue. Now the church feels like it's essentially their mandate to protect the poor but it is clearly written in scripture that it is also the mandate of Christians to respect the rule of law. Romans 13.

DOBBS: Well, I am impressed with the citation, I couldn't have done as well but I appreciate you doing so.

Lisa Sylvester, thank you very much.

In Los Angeles, renewed calls tonight for amnesty for illegal aliens. Cardinal Roger Mahony and the mayor of Los Angeles making the push at a special mass held yesterday.

DOBBS: Well, I think that the good cardinal should check out Lisa Sylvester's citation of Romans. There's something to me -- I'll put it this way -- inappropriate about con founding, confusing and conflating religion and secular issues such as politics and the law of the land.

This is, to me, inexplicable and very troubling. I suspect a lot of other folks, as matter of fact, given those surveys about the disconnect between the membership of the Protestant churches and the membership of the Catholic churches both, I think a lot of people have to be deeply troubled.

So if Lou is upset as he was yesterday about Christians pushing their agenda for amnesty for migrant workers in the U.S. what does he have to say about Roe Vs. Wade?

Giuliani had difficulty answering questions about abortion, especially when moderator Chris Matthews asked the candidates whether Roe vs. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion, should be repealed. Though everyone before him answered yes unequivocally, Giuliani said tepidly: "It would be OK."

"OK to repeal?" Matthews asked.

"It would be OK to repeal," Giuliani said. "It would be OK also if a strict constructionist judge viewed it as precedent, and I think a judge has to make that decision."

Actually, Giuliani did give a real answer later, when he said he does not like abortion, but "since it is an issue of conscience, I would respect a woman's right to make a different choice." Too bad it took so long.

Or the fact that three Republican Candidates for President said they did not believe in Science!

It ought to count as a national embarrassment not just that the 10 Republican presidential aspirants were asked in their first debate whether they believe in evolution but, worse, that the question was called for. And worst of all, that three testified to their disbelief.

Upon being asked if anyone on the stage “does not believe in evolution,” Senator Sam Brownback, Former Governor Mike Huckabee, and Representative Tom Tancredo raised their hands. That alone should spell an immediate end to their respective candidacies. It indicates that their minds have been so thoroughly poisoned by religious literalism - truly fundamentalism of the most dangerous kind - that they have lost touch with reality.

Inquiring minds want to know.

Lou has made the step towards democratic secularism, now he has to understand that it is not just a matter of separating Church and State, but of recognizing the American libertarian ideal; No God, No Master, and now add to that; No One Is Illegal. Dobbs needs to abandon his nativism since America was founded on the migrant labour of indentured servitude and slavery.

No doubt you've seen car stickers of the American flag along with the irritating words, "God Bless America." Well, I propose a better phrase that actually represents the original United States government.

The words, "No Gods, No Masters," originates from Margaret Sanger from the title of an article about birth control. It fits because nowhere in the Constitution does it mention deities, or masters. Our government derives from We the People not by gods, kings, or masters but by the very mortal citizens of the United States.

SEE:

American Polytheism

Creationism=Paganism

Secular Democracy

Migration

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Racist ADQ

The Reform Party of Quebec, aka the ADQ has revealed its racist roots. And with their encouragement the little town of Herouxville has met their challenge.

Mario Dumont is resorting to "demagoguery" when he says old-stock Quebecers are "on their knees" before minority groups, Premier Jean Charest said yesterday.

The premier was referring to an open letter by Dumont, leader of the right-of-centre Action democratique du Quebec. In it, he referred to Quebecers' "European stock" and "our values inspired firstly by our religious tradition."

The ADQ leader noted recent incidents involving minority groups, in which Quebecers "chose to put aside our common values" to satisfy minorities. He also criticized Charest for showing a lack of leadership and blaming "our old minority reflex, which persists despite the Quiet Revolution, Bill 101 and the success of Quebec Inc."

The premier said Dumont's view that Quebecers are always giving in to minorities is "a total, total fabrication."

Once again Quebec Nationalism, regardless of political ideology of its demagogues, reveals itself to be Pure Laine. Quebec does not need national sovereignty it needs working class sovereignty; socialism.

And the ADQ like its federal counterparts now running Ottawa appeals to the lowest common denominator, tax cuts, reduction in government services, privatization of the public sector, and anti-dual citizenship, aka anti-immigrant racism.

Ironically the ADQ's attitude is similar to the old Reform Party base out West which is not only anti-non-European-immigrant but also Anti-Francophone. Expressing the same beliefs that the ADQ does towards minorities, that is the Rest of Canada always gives in to Quebec.

See

Quebec

Not Your Usual Left Wing Rant

Reform Party


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